Project Director

Project Director – Owner’s Representative (Data Center)

Position Summary:

The Project Director serves as the owner’s primary representative throughout the planning, design, construction, commissioning, and closeout of complex capital projects. This role protects the owner’s interests by coordinating internal stakeholders, consultants, contractors, vendors, and regulatory authorities to ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, on schedule, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

The successful candidate will combine strong construction and project-management expertise with commercial judgment, technical understanding, and excellent stakeholder-management skills.

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership

• Lead projects from initial planning and design through construction, commissioning, occupancy, and final closeout.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between the owner and architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, vendors, and other project partners.
• Establish project objectives, execution plans, responsibilities, milestones, and reporting requirements.
• Coordinate project activities across multiple internal and external teams.
• Identify potential issues early and drive timely, practical resolutions.
• Maintain clear decision-making and escalation processes throughout the project lifecycle.

Scope, Schedule, and Budget Management

• Develop, maintain, and monitor project scopes, schedules, budgets, cash-flow forecasts, and delivery plans.
• Review cost estimates, proposals, contracts, change orders, invoices, and payment applications.
• Evaluate project risks, contingencies, and potential cost or schedule impacts.
• Monitor performance against approved baselines and implement corrective actions when required.
• Lead value-management activities while protecting operational, quality, safety, and performance requirements.
• Provide accurate forecasts and concise project-status reporting to senior stakeholders.

Design and Construction Oversight

• Coordinate architects, engineers, consultants, and end users during programming and design.
• Review design documents for completeness, constructability, coordination, operational suitability, and alignment with owner requirements.
• Facilitate design reviews, constructability reviews, and interdisciplinary coordination.
• Oversee contractor performance, field progress, quality-control activities, and compliance with contract documents.
• Conduct regular site visits and participate in progress, coordination, safety, and issue-resolution meetings.
• Monitor requests for information, submittals, substitutions, deficiencies, and change-management processes.
• Confirm that work is completed in accordance with approved plans, specifications, codes, and applicable standards.

Procurement and Commercial Management

• Support procurement strategies for professional services, construction services, equipment, and specialty vendors.
• Assist with requests for proposals, bid evaluations, contractor interviews, commercial negotiations, and award recommendations.
• Review contractor and consultant deliverables for contractual compliance.
• Maintain appropriate documentation supporting commercial decisions, changes, approvals, and payments.
• Promote transparency, accountability, and cost control throughout the supply chain.

Risk, Safety, and Quality

• Maintain project risk registers and coordinate mitigation plans with the appropriate stakeholders.
• Promote a strong safety culture and monitor compliance with project-specific safety expectations.
• Ensure that quality-assurance and quality-control processes are established and consistently followed.
• Track deficiencies, nonconforming work, corrective actions, and final resolution.
• Escalate significant safety, quality, cost, schedule, or operational risks promptly.

Commissioning and Closeout

• Coordinate commissioning, inspections, testing, training, turnover, and occupancy-readiness activities.
• Confirm that systems, equipment, and facilities meet the owner’s performance and operational requirements.
• Oversee completion of punch-list work and resolution of outstanding deficiencies.
• Ensure timely delivery of record drawings, operating manuals, warranties, permits, training records, and other closeout documentation.
• Coordinate project handover to facilities, operations, and maintenance teams.
• Lead post-project reviews and document lessons learned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, engineering, architecture, project management, or a related field.
• Relevant experience managing commercial, industrial, technical, infrastructure, or other complex capital projects.
• Demonstrated experience acting as an owner’s representative or managing projects directly on behalf of an owner.
• Strong knowledge of design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and project-closeout processes.
• Experience managing project budgets, schedules, contracts, change orders, and risk.
• Ability to review and interpret drawings, specifications, schedules, cost reports, and contractual documents.
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with standard project-management, scheduling, document-control, and collaboration platforms.
• Ability to travel to project sites as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certification such as PMP, CCM, PE, RIBA, AIA, MRICS, or an equivalent credential.
• Experience delivering technically complex, mission-critical, high-availability, or large-scale projects.
• Familiarity with sustainable design, energy-efficiency, and environmental-performance requirements.
• Experience with commissioning, operational readiness, and occupied-site construction.
• Knowledge of building codes, permitting processes, workplace safety requirements, and industry best practices.
• Experience working with distributed or cross-functional teams.

Core Competencies

• Ownership and accountability
• Leadership and sound judgment
• Planning and organization
• Cost and schedule control
• Commercial awareness
• Risk management
• Technical coordination
• Problem-solving
• Negotiation and conflict resolution
• Clear, concise communication
• Stakeholder relationship management
• Attention to detail

Success Measures

Performance in this position will be evaluated based on:

• Safe and successful project delivery
• Achievement of approved budget and schedule targets
• Quality and operational readiness of completed work
• Effective management of project risks and changes
• Timely resolution of issues and stakeholder decisions
• Accuracy and clarity of project reporting
• Completeness of commissioning, turnover, and closeout
• Satisfaction of internal stakeholders and project partners